Spirited Away III: Tale of Two Worlds
by SAK00
Summary: In the aftermath of the war and hope for a brighter and better future, Sire Daisuke's warning is gone by unheeded. That, a vulnerable and war-stricken world & a unity between a spirit prince and an ordinary human girl can lead to predicaments that even the Sire couldn't foresee. Sequel to "Spirited Away II: Return to the Spirit Realm."
1. Prologue

**Hello, readers! After a challenging school year & many months of brainstorming, I am happy to be back in the Fanfiction community! I have been thinking about this story ever since I wrote "Spirited Away II: Return to the Spirit Realm." As usual, I own nothing recognizable from "Spirited Away," and Charles Dickens' book "Tale of Two Cities" has been my inspiration for the title. Enjoy & review!**

* * *

 _ **Spirited Away III: Tale of Two Worlds**_

 _ **Prologue**_

She had never seen her son look so weary and haggard. His shiny green eyes were now dark with wrath, and his skin sagged and yellow.

"I do not understand you, Mother," he was saying. "After everything that has occurred -"

"I don't expect you to," she interrupted him. "But I love you, son, and I can't let a human girl get in the way of your happiness."

"She _is_ my happiness!"

"Kohaku, now you listen to me." Her voice was uncharacteristically stern. "If you wish to marry her – that is all right with me. But you may do so after, and _only_ after, balance is restored to our world. Not a minute earlier."

"What does that have to do with anything?" he demanded. "Why does she have to -"

"Because she's a _child,_ Haku, a _child!_ She _needs_ to grow up first. _You_ need to fully comprehend this first."

"You're not answering my question."

Here the Lady looked heavenward for patience. She loved the girl – nay, she even respected her – but that didn't mean she was going to let her affections blind her.

"Kohaku. She needs to go to the human world _and stay there as long as necessary_ until we can first restore our world and second both of you understand the sacrifices you'll be committing in order for your … relationship … to work out."

She would rather have her son marry a respectable, powerful lady of his own species, but she didn't mention that.

Haku's eyes bored into hers. "I know your reason, Mother, so do not try to hide it. I _will_ put up with these ridiculous rules of yours, I will do my best to restore order, and I will do whatever you say to prove my maturity in this, but I love Chihiro and Chihiro alone."

"I know you do, my son. I know you do." She did, too. An image of Chihiro's battered body flashed through her mind – she dug the heel of her palm against her eyes. It was too painful. Too much. Another reason why she secretly opposed and wanted to at least postpone her son's marriage with Chihiro were vengeful spirits, who wouldn't take all too kindly to a human princess ruling over them.

"That is why I want it to work out … safely."

Now Haku looked up heavenward.

"Mother, is there something you're not telling me?"

Sire Daisuke swiveled in his chair and faced his irritated grandnephew. Wise, fatherly, and brave, he was one of the few people Haku still trusted.

"Actually, Haku, there's a lot of things that your mother isn't telling you."


	2. Chapter 1

**_Thank you for your support for my prologue and special thanks to my reviewer, HappyFairySong!_**

 ** _Just as a reminder: according to my stories, No-Face was a human boy enchanted by the Dark Spirit into becoming that feared creature as he was portrayed in the film; however, towards the end of my story, the Dark Spirit took the curse off of him, revealing him his true identity: Chihiro's older brother._**

 ** _Words in italics are (most often) Chihiro's thoughts._**

 ** _Enjoy!_**

* * *

 _ **Spirited Away III: A Tale of Two Worlds**_

 _ **Chapter 1**_

" _I thought we would never be separated again."_

" _I'll come back for you."_

Chihiro nibbled at the end of her pencil. Everything in the room was white: the walls, the desks, the polished floor, the whiteboard, even the chairs. Her own crisp uniform made her feel part of the polished white display. Naturally, her eyes were drawn to the only color in the room. Her professor, a wrinkly lady of small stature, was explaining all the various forms of cell division with the energy her students clearly didn't possess. Some gazed out into space; some picked at their uniforms; a few slept or, to pass the time more appealingly, passed notes. One such couple giggled.

The professor paused mid-lecture and glowered at them. "Am I being too disruptive of your activities?"

"Oh, not at all, ma'am," stammered the girl. "I'm terribly sorry." But Chihiro could see that she fought to keep her lips straight, which twisted mischievously at the corners.

"Well," the professor simpered, "I suggest you pay attention. This lecture can end up being important to you sooner than you think."

Snickers swelled across the room. Chihiro twisted in her seat to catch the girl's eye, whose vehement scowl would have won Lin's seal of approval.

" _Once you meet someone, you never really forget them."_

 _Oh, Granny, how right you were._

 _Stop. Focus._ Chihiro exhaled and ran her fingers through her hair. She had to get a degree, she told herself. If she didn't, she would never get a well-paying job. Four mouths were too much to feed for her aging father, and given her recent "adventures," she just _had_ to help him ...

"...there will be a test tomorrow. Fifty questions. I suggest you review the PowerPoint notes as homework to remember the finer details," her professor was saying. "Now, the major rundown: binary fission, mitosis, meiosis, cell cycle, crossing over..."

Chihiro slid the notebook into her backpack. The high school basics flitted through her brain with relative ease, but the new facts which made up the bulk of the curriculum were conspicuously absent. She paused.

"...have a good day."

As students spilled out the door, Chihiro slowly and deliberately packed her things, redid her ponytail, and then looked long and hard at the whiteboard, as if trying to memorize the facts written there. She was the last student to leave the room.

Outside, the sun shone in all its glory. Students crowded the curb, fished out bills from wallets, and called for taxis. Others squinted in a vain attempt to read bus schedules or rested in the shade. Chihiro was about to join the taxi-hailing crowd when a hand clamped down on her shoulder.

"Chihiro! I've been looking everywhere for you."

"Hey, Cassie," she replied in accented English. "Can I help you?"

"Cut out the formality. I just wanted to chat and give you a ride home." Cassie was one of the richer students who had the luxury of a car. "How was cellular biology?"

"Lame," Chihiro murmured truthfully. If Cassie was expecting an English translation of a biology lecture from her, then Chihiro might as well spare her the disappointment. "In fact, we have a test tomorrow which I don't feel remotely well about."

Cassie sent her a reproachful look. "Don't talk so negatively! What you need is a strong cup of coffee – or wine – to relax your nerves. Which do you prefer?"

Chihiro arched her eyebrows. A ride home, and now a drink?

But she replied, "Green tea."

"I know the cutest coffee shop -"

"Actually, Cassie, I really need to study. I'll be fine." They were approaching the car, a sleek, shiny Mercedes that attracted more attention than its preppy owner. Not to be rude, Chihiro inquired, "How was your day?"

Cassie scrunched up her nose. "Biology was more or less fine, but Japanese – a bummer. Given that my father envisions my career here in Japan, this is, in every aspect of the word, unacceptable."

So she needed help with Japanese, not biology.

"I'm sure your father will be understanding," Chihiro coaxed, sliding into the shotgun seat. "This is your first year in Japan, is it not?"

"And my last, by the looks of it," moaned Cassie.

"Don't be so pessimistic – you just told me not to be negative about my biology test, didn't you?"

"I'm not being pessimistic. I'm being _realistic."_

"What's the difference?"

"The mindset."

Chihiro tried not to laugh. "What do you want me to do about your mindset?"

Cassie wrenched her eyes from the road and fixed Chihiro with her most pleading look. "I really want some help with Japanese!"

Here, Chihiro laughed.

Cassie hissed, "I'm sorry, am I annoying you _too_ much?"

The next giggle lodged in Chihiro's throat. The sight of the outgoing and bubbly Cassie now sitting stoically with pale lips and shadowed eyes brought a pang of shame.

"I'm sorry, Cassie," Chihiro murmured solemnly. "I didn't mean to laugh at you. You were just so passionate a minute ago."

She shrugged. "Never mind."

Yet something nagged at the back of Chihiro's mind. It was the memory of her first day when Cassie welcomed her to her lunch table with open arms and every day thereafter.

She patted her friend's arm ruefully. "I'll help you, but only after my test. What exactly do you need help with?"

"Japanese lit." Cassie scrunched up her face. "In all honesty, Chi, I have _no_ idea how you manage to digest so many characters and symbols. It drives me _crazy!"_

Chihiro chuckled. "Well, English was no crystal stair for me, either."

A blur of green caught her eye, and she saw that they were nearing the top of the hill - and her house.

Suddenly, Chihiro's heart was pounding against the walls of her rib cage like a jackhammer. She flushed red to the roots of her hair.

"Cassie, please drop me off here."

"What? Why?" Cassie looked askance at the devious-looking hill. "It's a kilometer long walk."

"I'm wearing sneakers, not Cinderella heels. I'll be fine."

"Chi, don't be ridiculous. It'll take me a grand total of 5 minutes to get you straight to your door," Cassie exclaimed.

"I need the walk, Cassie." Her hands shook, but she managed to hold them still long enough to mutter a goodbye and stumble out of the car.

It was only when Cassie's Mercedes sped out of sight that Chihiro realized she slipped back into Japanese in the middle of the conversation.

* * *

Half an hour and many bruises later, Chihiro was banging her forehead against an innocent tree in pure frustration. _Why did the heck I venture out here?_

While she was adding another souvenir to her latest collection, her mind ran through all the ways she could pacify her parents. She was exhausted after a day of college. A nice little walk in the woods was a perfect cure. It was such a bright and sunny day, a shame to spend indoors. Besides, she wasn't a child any longer, and she didn't need to be worried over. Of course, she had her phone fully charged and didn't stray from paths or speak to strangers.

There was also a distinct lack of wolves. And grandmothers.

But all of those excuses were just that: excuses. Neither a headache nor a fatigue spell would send her running into the middle of a forest. Her cheeks flamed scarlet at just the mere thought for her real reason. It wasn't like her to admit this kind of weakness to anyone, even to herself.

A breeze swept by her sweaty (and bruised) forehead. Chihiro stood statue-still, spine oak straight, arms crossed doggedly, a scowl firmly etched on her flushed face. She mentally counted down until she kissed her last shred of sanity goodbye.

One...

Two...

Three...

Four...

The first tear fell.

Then, the second...

Third...

Fourth...

 _"Yes,_ Haku!" she gasped. "Please tell me that you miss me, that you have not forgotten me. Please say that you, too, are sick of hiding the pain every day, because I miss all of you so much that it's eating me alive."

It was then that Chihiro gained a crystal-clear appreciation for the phrase "loud silence." It roared in her ears as ferociously as a waterfall until it drenched her in tears.

* * *

After all, she had no way of knowing that _he_ stood not a foot away, trying to wipe her bitter tears with a translucent finger.

It was another half hour later that Chihiro, smiling brightly, arrived home.

"Where were you?" Dai hissed as he ushered her inside. "Mom and Dad have been going nuts!"

Despite the prickle of guilt, Chihiro rolled her eyes. "I'm nineteen, you know. I wasn't a little child getting lost!"

"Well, I hope that explains your uniform," Dai said archly.

Chihiro blushed. The sight of her white college clothes, dirty like a pair of hand-me-down jeans, would doubtlessly win her parents' undisguised wrath.

"Sen?" Dai whispered. He stepped closer, tilting his sister's chin. "Where have you gone to?"

"Where else?" she sighed. "I went to the forest."

His voice sank an octave. "Why?"

"Because it's -" Abruptly, she withdrew.

"Because it's what?" He clutched her forearms desperately. "Because it's what, Chihiro?"

But she was spared from answering as her parents, attracted by the noise, rushed downstairs and stared aghast at her.

Chihiro grimaced. "Mom, Dad, I swear it's not like it looks -"

"Where were you?" her mother screeched.

Dai threw Chihiro a scathing look.

"I just went out for a short walk -"

Mr. Ogino hissed, "What did you do, roll in the mud?"

Chihiro arched her eyebrows. "Honestly, Dad, you know how clumsy I am. It didn't take me two minutes to trip over some tree root and do the damage."

She half-hoped that this would ease her brother, but his glare only grew fiercer.

Mrs. Ogino shook her head. "Chihiro, why would you go to the woods? You could've been attacked by an animal, get lost, or even met someone with less-than-honorable intentions -!"

"Why are you worried?" Chihiro interrupted, holding up her wrist obscured in a glittery purple band. "I have Zeniba's hair tie with me. Nothing would've happened."

It was a testimony to the past six months that her parents didn't rebuke her, didn't call her foolish, didn't glance at each other with long, sideways looks, but merely stared speechlessly.

Dai, on the other hand, evidently was on the verge of growling.

"Is there anything you need help with?"

Mrs. Ogino shook her head.

Chihiro turned to her father. "Dad?"

"You go on and study, Chihiro," he said softly. "We won't bother you."

Chihiro almost hastened to say, "You're not bothering me," but stopped. Her brother would shadow her every move if she stayed, glaring at her out of bitingly accusing eyes as she chopped vegetables or moped the floor.

She sadly wondered what had happened to her friend. Where was his unconditional support, his perpetual gentleness? Maybe, she thought, No-Face was always this way. Maybe the only difference was that he now had a face, voice, and most expressive pair of eyes she had ever seen.

So, nodding in gratitude, she jogged upstairs to her room.

Chihiro was settling down at her desk when her brother emerged. She stiffened. If the very real guise of studying wasn't going to thwart him, then what would?

But he wasn't glowering at her anymore.

"Don't run from me," he pleaded. "I hate it when you do that."

"I didn't run from you," she protested, giving him a stern look. "I need to study; can't you see that?"

His lips quirked, semi-bitter. "I can see through your facade, Sister."

She exhaled wearily. "What do you want, Brother?"

"Honesty." His eyes darkened. "Chihiro, what have you been doing in the woods?"

"Haven't I made myself perfectly clear on this matter?"

"Actually, no, not at all."

She glared. "Then that's not my problem."

Dai shook his head. Suddenly the motion was scarily reminiscent of No-Face.

"Can you please just tell me?" he pleaded with her. "Don't you think I understand what you feel - how I feel? I feel the same. I want you to open up to me."

She pursed her lips. Here was the signature Ogino stubbornness - it ran in the blood, and now it was squaring against each other in the form of two bickering siblings.

"I don't want to feel weak," she admitted.

He quirked an eyebrow. "Do you think I want to?"

Then: "Oh, _honestly,_ do you, humans, _ever_ change?"

Chihiro quite nearly fell out her chair. Eyes blazing, Dai spun in the voice's direction.

Lin was smirking coolly in the corner of the room.

Chihiro's chest threatened to cave in and shatter, and Dai - well, she couldn't say for the life of her what he was thinking.

 _"Lin!"_ Chihiro flew across the room and flung herself upon the weasel spirit.

"Sen," breathed Lin, relief vibrating in her voice. "Sen, are you all right?"

"As all right as I'll ever be. Why?"

Lin, Chihiro realized, changed. It wasn't her cherry-red silk robes, her gold-plated hair clips, or her string of pink pearls. Even if she didn't look like somebody straight out of _Cinderella_ (or the Imperial Palace), she exuded aristocracy, as if she and the crude Yuna were two different people.

But then she raised an eyebrow and said primly, "Calm down, No-Face."

Affronted, Chihiro cried, "Lin! His name is Dai, not No-Face, and he is my brother. Treat him with respect!"

"I am sorry, Chihiro," Lin coaxed - and Chihiro knew that something was terribly wrong. "But there's something I mean to tell you, and Dai needs to let me speak."

"There's nothing for you to say here, weasel," he sneered.

"Dai -" Chihiro implored.

"Why did you come?" he spat at Lin.

"It affects her," she said sadly.

"Nothing in that world affects her anymore!"

"Who are you to say this?!"

"And who are you to call yourself her friend?!"

"Lin, Dai, _please -"_

"She does not need another reminder of your world," Dai snarled.

" _My_ world?" Lin repeated incredulously. "Is it just _my_ world, Dai, or is it also _our_ world?"

"Stop it! Both of you!" Grabbing a fistful of her brother's shirt, Chihiro shook him as tears pricked at her eyes. "You cannot do this, Dai! Whatever Lin needs to say, she'll say, and you won't interfere!"

"The hell I -"

"Shut up!" Lin thundered. "Don't you see that you are making her cry?"

Chihiro made a strangled sound, half-laugh, half-sob. Dai straightened nervously, looked askance at his sister's watery eyes, and hugged her.

"I'm sorry."

"See what you've done?" Lin hissed, gesturing at her pale-faced friend. "Perhaps you need to look up 'overreaction'?"

"You understand nothing," Dai breathed out. "You don't understand how tough it was for her to come back and ... fit in."

"That's because she doesn't belong here," Lin murmured. "She needs to come back, Dai."

He stiffened. "Have you lost your mind?!" he hissed. "She's a human! She can't stay there!"

Despite Dai's flawless logistics, Chihiro agreed with Lin wholeheartedly.

There were two forces within Chihiro: the dogged-to-the-death force, the side which had her charging headfirst into the stickiest (and deadliest) of situations, and the peaceful dove force. Her peaceful dove seized dominance.

"I'm tired," she interjected hotly, "and I still need to study. Whatever needs to be said should have been said by now. Can we discuss this tomorrow, when I hope we can all talk civilly?"

"Of course, Sen - er, Chihiro." Lin smiled wanly. "But in two words, you need to come back. Maybe not now, not tomorrow, but as soon as possible."

"Haku promised -"

"And it can take years for Haku to fulfill his promises," she said tartly. "You can't wait that long."

Chihiro knotted her lips. It was painful to wait, yes - but she had her human family to think about. _They need your help._ "If that's how much time he needs, then fine. I have full faith in him."

But Lin's answering look scared her, chilled her. It wasn't a look of menace or fury or even unfriendliness. It was a doleful look - those sympathetic eyes, that sad smile - that withered Chihiro's throat dry.

"We'll talk tomorrow, Sen. Good night."

* * *

 ** _Disliked it? Liked it? Hated it? Loved it? Leave me your thoughts in the form of reviews! Reviews motivate the writer, so 5 reviews = a faster update!_**

 ** _Thanks!_**


	3. Chapter 2

_**Spirited Away III: A Tale of Two Worlds**_

 _ **Chapter 2**_

One of Chihiro's strongest virtues was responsibility. It wasn't something she acquired during her stay in the Spirit Realm as a ten-year-old; it ran in her blood, and the older she got, the more that trait took dominance. As a child, she did well in school, emerging at the top of her classes and quickly becoming a bit of a social butterfly. As a homeschooling student, she was vigilant, even during her deepest and thickest bouts of depression. That, along with her "dogged-to-the death" stubbornness, rescued her as a bewildered ten-year-old in a different world. She just got used to scraping up bits of time to finish her work. After all, if she saved her parents from becoming pork chops as a kid, then why couldn't she do anything else, especially something as normal and human as homework?

Therefore, it came as a bit of a surprise that, despite a grueling two hours of homework late into the night, she barely scraped by on her biology test with a "B."

"I can't believe this," she muttered, staring pale-faced at her red-inked answer sheet. She felt herself go paler by the minute.

"What's got you so worried?" chirped some nameless student. Chihiro only knew that it wasn't Cassie because this student was a male.

"Nothing unexpected," she said blandly.

"The test?" he persisted.

"Yeah."

"Yeah, it was ... one of the difficult ones," he said sheepishly. "I hope the next one will be easier, though."

"As do I," she breathed.

Thus was her disappointment that she sulked all the way home, steering clear of Cassie's Mercedes as well as any eager taxis. The hour-long walk earned her painful blisters, but at least her features were schooled into an unassuming mask and her sadness controlled.

"Chihiro, where have you been?" hollered her mother, poking her head out the window. She paused. "Have you walked all the way home?"

"Yes, Mom."

"Why?"

"Because I was missing out on exercise," she said offhandedly, by which Mrs. Ogino was thankfully satisfied.

"Speaking of which, Chi, will you have dinner?" she offered. "It's pork fried rice - hey, what's wrong? Are you all right?!"

For Chihiro suddenly blanched and swayed, gripping a nearby stool for support. It wasn't due to her slight aversion to pork, of course; the sight of meat never made her faint, not even when she witnessed Bathhouse cooks marinating fillets of questionable origins. The word "pork" had her mind jumping to Lin and her suspicious sadness.

"I'm fine, fine, just hungry."

Mrs. Ogino's eyebrows drew together. "This isn't about the Spirit World, is it?"

"What?" Chihiro's surprise, needless to say, didn't need feigning. "No - no, of course not."

Fortunately, another one of Chihiro's virtues was honesty; she barely ever lied. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your point of view), this made her a horrible liar, one who couldn't get away with the simplest of fibs.

"Don't you dare tell me untruths, young lady!" Mrs. Ogino's voice rumbled warningly in her chest.

Chihiro's eyes widened. How had her mother made the connection so quickly? What had given her away? Her gaze trailed upstairs, to her brother's room down the hall from hers.

"Dai told me everything," Mrs. Ogino affirmed. "He said that a friend of yours visited last night."

The brunette frowned. "What else did my brother say?"

"Not much, but he told me to keep you as far away from them as possible."

Chihiro's breathing grew shallow.

"Chihiro, what's going on?" her mother demanded. "Chihiro, _tell me!"_

"I - I don't know..."

"I'm your parent! I have _every_ right to know!"

She shook her head frantically, sweaty tendrils of brown hair whipping to and fro. "I don't know, Mom! Dai didn't let Lin say anything; he just screamed at her the entire time! All that I know is that something happened." She sucked in a gulp of fresh air and tried to stop her tears. "Mom, what if something happened to Haku? What will I do without my friends?"

Her lip quivered, barely perceptible.

But her mother's eyes were rock-hard, ice-cold.

"You will live," she hissed.

Chihiro took a step back, startled. "What?"

Of course, Chihiro modified her story, omitting her deathly experience when she slew the Dark Spirit. Little did she know that Dai told her parents the full, unabridged version. Now, Mr. and Mrs. Ogino's friendliness towards the spirits froze.

"Let me make this very clear, Chihiro. I don't care what your friends say, but you're never going back there ever again."

Chihiro stumbled back another step. "What - why? Why, Mom?"

But this angry woman who towered imperiously over her didn't even look like her mother.

"Because I won't let you!" she shouted. "I won't let you throw your life away!"

"Mom, what are you talking about?" the girl cried despairingly.

Mr. Ogino's hands grasped his wife's shaking shoulders.

"Honey, calm down," he pleaded; "it's not her fault."

"What's not my fault, Dad? What are you saying?"

Neither her mother's weary nose-pinching nor her father's askance looks escaped her notice.

"What we're saying is that you cannot go back, Chihiro. Ever."

Her backpack slid off her shoulder and clattered to the polished floor with a bang.

"What?" she gasped. "No, you can't be saying -"

"Yes, Chihiro," Mrs. Ogino affirmed. "You will never go back to the Spirit Realm. Ever."

A minute later, those words hit Chihiro like a sledgehammer.

"You cannot stop me," she cried, straightening her stance, which was trembling now worse than ever.

"We can, and we will," Mr. Ogino said sternly. "As far as the government is concerned, you're a child."

"I'm nineteen!"

"That's a minor in Japan."

"It doesn't matter." Her head spun in circles, her bravado slipping precariously. "You still cannot do this to me! I can and I will go back!"

Mrs. Ogino raised her eyebrows challengingly. "And do what there, Chihiro? Scrub slimy bathtubs for the rest of your life? No, don't interrupt. Hear me out! Chihiro, you don't realize this because of your infatuation, but you have nothing to do there. Those spirits," she spat, "did nothing other than repeatedly put you in harm's way! The best thing Haku ever did was bring you home."

The cruelty by which those words were uttered scared all thoughts of obedience from Chihiro's mind.

"Infatuation" was nowhere near the correct term; she was in love, utterly and wholesome in love, with everything and everyone there. That world gave her confidence, lifelong friends, a brother, and a love interest.

She didn't say anything to those cold-faced strangers. Instead, she spun on her heel and darted out the door.

"Chihiro! Chihiro, please wait!"

Sprinting down the cobblestone path, Chihiro found herself in the forest. The green shrubbery and trees were like a huge, rayless cave.

"Chihiro, wait!"

That jolted her out of the false sense of security. She picked up her pace, interweaving between the trees.

"It's me! Lin!"

Strong, warm hands clasped her waist. Chihiro skittered to an awkward stop.

"Gosh, girl," heaved the weasel spirit, "you certainly know how to make someone sweat."

Chihiro herself was heaving too much to apologize. Finally, she stuttered, "I - I am sorry, I - thought you were ... someone else..."

"What happened?" Lin cut off sternly. "I could hear your shouts from all the way outside."

Chihiro winced.

"Haven't you heard?"

"I'm not the eavesdropping time," she sniffed.

"Sorry." Chihiro ran a hand through her tangled locks. "My backstabber of a brother babbled to Mom that I nearly died, and now they forbade me from ever going back," she explained bitterly.

"How do you know Dai said that?" Lin ventured after a momentary pause.

"My mom said, 'I won't let you throw your life away,' and then, 'The spirits did nothing but put you in harm's way.'"

A familiar fire rekindled in her eyes. "That's not true!"

"Of course not! You and Haku always did your best to protect me." Chihiro lowered her head. "But Mom doesn't get that."

"And your father...?"

"He's on her side 100%."

She inadvertently leaned forward, as if trying to catch a few stray thoughts of wisdom, but her friend was stonily silent.

"Say something," she begged.

"What do you want me to say?" Lin simpered. "I don't want you to disobey your parents, but if it wasn't that major I wouldn't have come here."

Chihiro's peach-hued cheeks flamed crimson. "Then _speak,_ Lin! You can't just barge into my house, saying I need to come back without offering an explanation. What has happened? Tell me; it's been eating me alive all day! Did something happen to Haku?"

"No, nothing happened to Haku."

"Then what?"

"It's about _you!_ You're not safe here. The Human World isn't safe."

Chihiro was nonplussed. "Why?"

"Look around you."

A keen once-over showed nothing amiss. The trees, birds, and vegetation were all intact.

"Word came out that the mighty Prince Nigihayami Kohaku Nushi fell in love with a human - namely, you. You remember how spirits feel about humans, correct?"

"What do you - oh."

"Yes, _'oh,'"_ Lin emphasized. "So when some of the more powerful figureheads learned that a matrimony between a spirit prince and a human was possible ... well, let's just say you're hopelessly vulnerable here."

Chihiro blanched. "Are you saying that they are going to _attack_ me?! Why?"

"Because, Chihiro! Because they can't see past their prejudice. Because they don't want a human in the ruling family.

"Nonetheless," she continued, "the Human World is depleted because of us. The war left us ... weak. Many of the spirits who controlled the harmony between worlds are dead or injured. Haven't you noticed how weak nature is?"

Of course, Chihiro did. The shortage of harvest and worldwide rationing of goods that baffled many never surprised her.

Lin eyed her human sister. "I know that you're in love with Haku," she whispered gently. "So tell me if I'm wrong in assuming you want him in your life."

"Y-you're right," murmured Chihiro.

"So you have to make a choice. Either you go back to the Spirit Realm or you stay here. It's one or the other."

"I cannot just go! Lin, think of my parents. They can be piggish sometimes, yes, but I can't just leave them. I was planning on helping them financially while I'm here! And what about Dai? He just became a human. Are you telling me that I'll have to leave them behind?"

The ensuing pregnant pause took their breaths away.

"Chihiro, the truth is that humans can't stay in the Spirit Realm. There's a human world for a reason. It would be like keeping a fish out of the water, a lion out of a savanna. You can keep that lion in the cleanest and nicest cage, but it will still long to return. If you come to live with us permanently, you, too, will long to return. There will be _physical drawbacks."_

"I don't believe it," Chihiro cried. "Not for a minute I will believe it. The only drawbacks I'm experiencing is here, in my so-called home."

"Spiritual drawbacks, maybe," Lin said, smiling wistfully, "but not physical ones."

"Impossible..."

"Chihiro, I'm telling you the truth. Now your choice is if you return and if you're willing to subject your parents to that."

Yet she refused to contemplate the matter. Her heart thudded; her logic froze. It was as if she knew her answer deep down but didn't have the guts to acknowledge it so soon.

"Why didn't Dai want me to hear that?" she inquired instead.

"I suppose Dai didn't want me imposing this dilemma on you," Lin sighed.

"It wasn't his right," she muttered.

"I know, but he loves you."

Suddenly, the overwhelming amount of sympathy and gentleness from her no-nonsense friend scared Chihiro mindless. As she climbed up the slope, knees buckling, her only thought was, "Only something this terrible can make Lin this nice."

* * *

Ivy pried her eyes open.

"Finally, you're awake! What've you been thinking, anyway, sleeping in so late?"

The scratchy voice registered with her foggy mind, albeit the figure loomed just a bit out of view.

"W-what are you talking about?" she slurred.

"It's eight o'clock, dearest," came the exasperated reply.

Suddenly the tendrils of sleep clinging onto her fell away. She bolted upright on the net. Her small woven room was bathed in rosy sunlight, and there, in the corner, sat her joint-swollen aunt.

"Auntie," she exclaimed, "what are you doing here?"

"Is that the thank you I get, child?" her aunt chided. "Not a 'good morning' or 'how do you do' to get by? By all means, I would've let the clerk deal with your insolence, had I possessed the hindsight."

"Oh, quit it."

"Yes, I shall call the clerk," said her aunt, rising with such feigned seriousness that Ivy nearly doubled over with laughter.

"Auntie, please -" she pleaded in between giggles.

The elder sniffed.

"I'm sorry," Ivy said as soon as she sobered. "But why didn't you wake me up?"

"You were lucky that I was here. I told the clerk that I was covering for you, and you needn't be bothered."

"Thank you. But what about your duties?"

"I'm off of them," assured her aunt, raising her eyebrows. "Didn't you know I had a day off?"

The joke sobered Ivy further. "Day offs" was a privilege reserved only for infants and the dying. Even small children were given tasks daily. "I'm serious."

The elder's climbed even higher. "What? Don't I deserve a small vacation?"

"You do," agreed Ivy, hugging her aunt. "You deserve so much more."

"As do you, my child," breathed the woman. She grazed Ivy's dark eye shadows. "You needed that sleep."

"Thanks for giving it to me." Ivy smiled. Sleep was the neediest and priciest of gifts, and she just received it.

"Now, don't worry about an old crone like me. I had Old Tom helping out a little - he had a day off."

"Really?" mused Ivy, half-disbelieving. "Anyway, do you need help?"

The lady cocked her head, glaring.

"Yes, yes," relented her niece, "I am the one who needs help. I'll take care of that."

"And you better do so, young lady! I am not dealing with the clerk again."

"I will, I promise," Ivy murmured. "May the Cyborgs be pleased with you."

It was a standard goodbye, something no one dared to neglect. Her aunt's eyes hardened. Nevertheless, she echoed, "And may the Cyborgs be pleased with _you."_

* * *

 **Thank you for reaching the 5 reviews mark! Your encouragement helped in writing this chapter, especially given that I had little time for writing the past few days. There is some foreshadowing in this chapter; what do you think will happen next? Leave me your thoughts! 5 reviews = a faster update!**


	4. Chapter 3

She always thought how funnily emotional pains manifested into physical, can't-ignore symptoms. Take regret, for example. It was a lot like an ache, really, only more intense, like maggots picking at her brain and heart where the mind and soul should be. After a session of regret, she would often retire into her room with a headache and a bottle of aspirin.

Regret, that pesky old friend, was coming back a lot lately. Even Akio started taking notice—well, of dwindling supply of aspirin in the cabinet, to be precise. Nobody besides the two of them in the house bothered with painkillers, so the culprit was self-evident. When the "phase" didn't pass, he started sending her sidelong looks that were supposed to be discrete. Dai brewed her "herbal teas" that were quite effective with headaches, but nothing could keep the regret away. Nothing.

"Honey, what's wrong?" Her husband lumbered into the room. Ah, so the "confrontation time" finally came.

"Lots on my mind," Mrs. Ogino answered. When she didn't elaborate, Mr. Ogino sat down and huffed.

"We're in this together, you know," he said. "You ought to talk with me when something's up."

"Up?" Mrs. Ogino barked a laugh. "When, husband of mine, are things _not_ up?"

"So how is this any different?"

"It wears on you, you know? All the doubts, all the insecurities, all the second thoughts—when you have to make a lot of hard decisions, it haunts you."

"It makes you wonder if you've done the right thing."

She looked up, crashing with her husband's searching eyes. A wry smile played on the corners of his mouth. "I know. I feel regret, too."

A bit of her headache receded before the worries came hurtling down.

"Do you think we're doing the right thing, though?" Mrs. Ogino whispered.

"Of course. You heard Dai."

"Then how is it that something so right feels so wrong?"

In the ensuing pause, Mrs. Ogino learned plenty of things. For the first time, she saw her raw insecurity lurking in her husband's gaze and the defeat in his tilted head. He had regrets and second thoughts and worries, too.

She also learned she was an awful wife.

"Because we're hurting our daughter to save her," he concluded. "But we also have to take care of ourselves, you know—let's leave the kids and get some sushi downtown."

For a split second, Mrs. Ogino wanted to take her kids with her. However, seeing Chihiro—dejected, morose Chihiro—would only exasperate and worry her at the same time. Wouldn't that defeat the whole purpose of their small getaway?

"A nice break is quite overdue," she agreed. "Oh, and we might need to buy more aspirin on the way back."

Chihiro watched as her parents' gray Audi disappear around the curve of the road. Just before getting in, Mr. Ogino looked up and met his daughter's stare. Then he turned away, swung open the door, and got in—as did her mother. No air-kiss, wave, or even a smile. Hardly even a goodbye.

Backing away from the window, Chihiro swept her room with unseeing eyes. A flicker of white caught her attention, and she saw a stack of homework papers and assignments. It was only half-done and, if her motivation was of any indication, would probably stay that way. So immersed was Chihiro in her thoughts that she nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw Dai hovering in the doorway.

"What are you doing here?" she snipped.

If her sharp tone affected him, Dai didn't show it. "How's schoolwork?"

"Schoolwork? You seriously came to ask me about schoolwork?"

His only response was a flicker of his eyes, from the bank of papers on her desk and back to her.

Chihiro gave a little shake of her head. "Fine."

Dai approached his sister and looped a strand of hair behind her ear. "How are you?"

"Brilliant," she hissed, moving away. "Now, please leave my room immediately."

Dai's scrutinizing stare never faltered. Chihiro flattened her clammy palms on her desk and swallowed. Why did her human brother still remind her of a ghost?

His hand was a feather-light touch on her shoulder.

"What?!" she shrieked, jerking back. _"What_ do you want, Dai? Haven't you done enough already?"

"Don't you see I'm only trying to protect you?" he whispered. "Don't you see how dangerous it is?"

"I hate to break it up to you, Dai, but my life hasn't exactly been safe for the past nine years!"

"Exactly—ever since you went there."

"There was your home! There is my home! How can you say such a thing?"

"You're a human!" he exploded. "You are supposed to live here!"

"What about you?" she asked him. "Are you a human, too?"

Shock registered in his features, followed by apprehension. Before he could utter a word, Chihiro kept talking.

"You say how terrible it is there—how you've seen the worst of it, being a no-face for the past, what, sixteen years? But I can see that you lie. There's that flicker of uncertainty, that clench of your jaw that tells me something is off. You miss the Spirit Realm, too."

"I miss Zeniba," he corrected her. "She was like the grandmother I never had."

"And I miss her, and Haku, and Lin, and -"

"What about your parents?" he seethed. "Are you willing to leave them for somebody who will only put you in harm's way?"

Chihiro froze. There was her dilemma—her love or her blood.

Of course, this was nothing new to Chihiro. Humans couldn't live in the Spirit Realm; if she would make an exception for herself, then she would have to bid her goodbyes. Her parents couldn't come with her, for doing so would not only cause them "physical drawbacks" but also sentence them to an unfulfilling life. Now, there was also her newfound brother to consider. It was never a lighthearted decision to make, but she was relying on her parents' support—Dad's humor, Mom's insight.

"In time, you'll see I am only trying to protect you."

"It's still a decision I will have to make," emphasized Chihiro, "and according to Lin, I might not have a choice. She said that I am hopelessly vulnerable in the human world now that my presence has angered some of the influential spirits. How will any of you protect me here if they come after me?"

Blood couldn't have drained any quicker from Dai's face if Chihiro cut his throat open. For the first time since she could remember, Dai—who had the grueling experience to rival any human—looked lost. She imagined the triumph should have made her feel proud, or at least hopeful, but something about her brother's forlorn eyes tugged at her heartstrings.

"C'mon," she muttered, "we need to prepare supper."

Dai held his tongue as they worked side-by-side in the kitchen. Chihiro began to contemplate that she finally got through her brother's thick skull. Was it possible she could convince her parents with Dai supporting her? It was an optimistic thought, albeit a foolish one. Foolish hope hurt.

It was Dai who softly interrupted the silence. "You know, I do want you happy, but are you sure the Spirit Realm will give you that? You don't know that place like I do. All you've seen are hospitable grannies -"

 _"Yubaba_ hardly constitutes as hospitable, Dai -"

"And good-natured friends," he continued. "I've seen the worst of it, though." A long-suffering sigh escaped his lips. "I don't want you to go into something blind, jeopardizing your safety in the process, only to discover that you cannot go back if you change your mind."

Chihiro begrudgingly placed two bowls of steaming rice on the table. Well, he did have a point—she had seen only the bathhouse and the Palace. But . . .

"I love him, Dai," she breathed.

"And are you _sure_ he reciprocates those feelings? Did he tell you he loves you?"

Chihiro whipped her head up so fast it nearly hurt her neck.

"Well?" Dai challenged. "Did he?"

"I . . . I . . ." Her voice trailed off. There was affection. He guided her, protected her, whispered sweet words when she cried, shared her sorrow, and even removed Yubaba's curse, thus restoring her health. Did a stronger sign of affection exist?

Dai planted the seed of doubt, and the damage was done—strange thoughts sprang unbiddenly. It was one thing to be a wonderful friend but altogether another matter to bind oneself to a human. What if a human and an immortal weren't meant to be? What if he needed a spirit princess to shoulder his burden and realized that she—a mere human—could never fulfill that position?

After all, he never did he say he felt for her as she felt for him.

All she said was, "The food will get cold."

Hours ticked by, but there was no sign of the elderly Oginos. The siblings ate their lunch, washed the china, and swept the floor for good measure. Still, no sign of them. Dai was getting nervous, too. He was eerily quiet and scowling at the windows as if he could will their parents back. Finally, Chihiro said, "I'll go look for them."

"They'll probably be back soon," said Dai, yet he sounded as if he was persuading himself.

She crumpled a washrag in her fist and threw it. "Let's call them. I'm getting worried."

Dai fished a cell phone out of his pocket and dialed a number. The phone rang shrilly until, at long last, a robotic voice terminated the call. Chihiro was halfway to the door in the time it took her brother to call out a question.

"I'll check on them," she said, shrugging on a jacket. "The sushi bar is just fifteen minutes from here, so don't worry about me. If anything is amiss, I'll call you."

"Let me come with you."

"You don't know how to ride a bike, Dai," Chihiro pointed out. "Besides, you'll only slow me down."

Her sibling sent a withering glance at the sky, muttering, "It's getting dark—I don't like this. You shouldn't be out alone."

The brunette was wrestling her bicycle out of a closet and pushing it past the door. "Don't worry about me, Dai, think of our parents! What if something happened?" Worry darkened her eyes. Her father used to be a bit of a daredevil, but her mother always has been sensible; why didn't either of them accept the call or stay out this late?

Seeing her brother's expression tighten, she added, "Don't worry, it's a safe neighborhood. I'm sure I'll be fine." She reached over to plant a chaste kiss on his cheek. "Make some tea ready, won't you?"

He grinned and ran a hand through his hair. "The herbal one?"

Chihiro couldn't help pulling a face. "No, jasmine tea, please." The siblings parted with a goodbye smile, and Chihiro was off the slope. She had spoken the truth when she said the sushi bar was a quarter of an hour away; for a longer distance, she would be obliged to hail a taxi. The scene was also picturesque: neat little rows of brick and cement houses and colorful banners and shops, lined with trees, shrubbery, and lampposts. Chihiro relished the beauty briefly before digging through the recess of her memories. Mr. Ogino's acquaintance owned the tiniest, coziest little place just down the road, and her parents frequented the shop for its rustic, down-to-earth feel. A small smile tugged at Chihiro's lips as she remembered how the three of them would spend hours there.

Now, the circumstances were drastically different and far darker.

Chihiro diverged from her path, and her eyebrows hopped in surprise. What was that acrid stench filling her nose? Just as she belatedly realized the answer, a scream tore from her throat. A gleaming red truck sped around the corner, and firefighters directed their hoses at the quaint sushi bar. The shop brimmed with flames, but most horrible of all was the absence of her parents.

At first, she couldn't believe it—the sushi bar on fire? Why? Who would do such a thing? Was it an accident? Her head whirled until the mental image of her parents jarred her into action. She frantically scanned the area to no avail.

"Mom! Dad!"

Somebody blocked her path, grabbing her shoulders and leaning to her eye-level. Chihiro felt herself flush with anger until the uniform registered in her mind. A policeman was holding her back. She rushed heedlessly into danger as if her parents were trapped inside, as if the dozen of firefighters before her wouldn't notice a couple inside a burning cafè.

"Miss!" The policeman gave her shoulders a shake. "Stay here. It is not safe. Do not interfere with the professionals' work."

Fear made her immobile, but her wide-eyed, wordless stare seemed more satisfactory than a level-headed "yes." The policeman left her in favor of interviewing the witnesses, and Chihiro's voice of reason began to whisper.

 _You're too foolhardy,_ it scolded. _You practically run into a burning building without realizing what you're doing. You as good as committed suicide when you defied everyone to kill the Dark Spirit. You could have died—and where would that leave your parents? Don't you see that your demise would have crushed so many?_

Her subconscious dragged a polar opposite of the event: she saw Haku running into someplace perilous to rescue a loved one. He didn't pause to assess the situation or question his safety; he just ran, as she did. She watched in horror as he found his mother facing a grotesque beast, and in a moment of valiancy, he sacrificed himself. Only he hadn't gifted his mother a life; he damned her to a hollow, grieving existence, a fate more painful than death.

How broken Chihiro would feel to incur such a loss! How she would despise the universe if he died there!

Foolhardiness wasn't the same as courageous selflessness; it was a vice. It was sheer stupidity. On the other hand, Haku wasn't foolhardy like her; he never lost his head or put himself in harm's way thoughtlessly when he protected her at the bathhouse. Only now, looking through the sieve of her memories, did she realize how much he risked for her—how courageous and selfless he was. But never foolhardy for that behavior could spell out her doom as well as his own.

"You have your parents to worry about," she muttered. "Think, Chihiro, think."

A grayish-blue Audi confirmed that Mr. and Mrs. Ogino had indeed been here, but where were they now if not in plain sight? None were in the bar—that much was a relief. Her parents weren't in the plaza, either, so where then?

Could the vengeful spirits Lin warned about have anything to do with this?

Chihiro crept parallel to the plaza until she reached a dark alley. Her voice wobbled as she called out her parents' names, but there was no answering cry.

Her parents weren't inside the sushi bar.

They left their car behind.

They had not picked up the phone.

It was wholly uncharacteristic of her aging parents, particularly her well-fed father, to leave a perfectly fine vehicle and walk. And even if the car's engine failed, they wouldn't have sauntered farther from home. They would've dialed for help and stay put.

As comprehension struck, Chihiro prayed that Dai would forgive her for breaking a promise. He might think she abandoned them in a time of need or even orchestrated the circumstances; she would never know. The way her brother looked when she kissed him goodbye, as if he became ten years younger, could very well be her last memory of him.

Chihiro stared into the blackness and called out, "I'm here!"

A spirit suggestive of a toad emerged. One look into his glittering black eyes and Chihiro knew he was as much of an enthusiastic human-hater as they come.

Just like Dai warned her.

"You have my parents?" She would stand her ground. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of her fear.

"You are in no position to be asking questions, human," hissed the frog.

Chihiro took a step back, toward the glow cast by a fire. "Yes, I am! I can scream and bring the entire horde of humans on your head! Do you have any idea what we're capable of?" She stepped closer towards the circle of light for good measure.

"You're dumber than I thought!" the spirit spat.

"You're weakened—you're in a foreign element—but I'm not," she pointed out. "And we're destructive. Either tell me where my parents are or I'll scream so loud you won't know what hit you."

The frog cocked its head in contemplation but, unbelievably, it didn't call out the flaw in her plan. Chihiro sucked in a breath, relished in the feel of her lungs expanding, and let it all out in a dangerously loud shriek.

"Where are my parents?! Tell me now!"

The spirit gesticulated, and some unforeseen force brought her parents from the darkened alley. They were unconscious, limbs slack, wrists and ankles tied, barely breathing.

For the second time, Chihiro silently bid her family goodbye. Perhaps Dai received the kinder farewell—at least he would carry the image of his smiling sister, riding off into the dusk. What would her parents understand of the mysterious circumstances under which their daughter disappeared?

"What have you done to them?"

Mercifully, the frog spirit answered her. "Not much—a mere fainting spell that will wear off in a while. Do I need to spell out the conditions of your parents' release?"

"I go willingly," she monotoned, "and you let them go."

"With all the humans here, I'm sure they'll be home before the night fades." His grin was predatory, ripping a shudder from the human girl.

Chihiro shut her eyes and screamed out every name she could think of, but nobody heard her. How could they? In a moment of self-preservation, she found herself questioning what Haku would do only to realize it didn't matter.

She was a mere, powerless human; everything that Haku would undoubtedly do was beyond the capabilities of a mortal. Once again, putting her life on the line was the only way.

"Bye," she whispered, steeping to touch her parents' faces.

"Move!" barked the frog.

Clammy hands grasped her forearms and, before Chihiro could scream, she has swept away in a flash of dizzying light.

* * *

 **If you enjoyed this chapter or have something to add, share your opinions by submitting a review or PM-ing me. Either one is fine. Thank you for reading!**

 **SAK00**


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Something—what, exactly, she couldn't say; probably a feeling—startled Chihiro back into consciousness with all of Yubaba's subtlety.

She shuddered at the cold sweat sliding down her face and drew in a lungful of the stale air. Disorientation gripped her. Where was she? What happened? There was a fire, wasn't there? Her head ached terribly. Then, with a dolesome look around her, she realized there was no fire. She was someplace dark, dusty, and cold. Her palms slid over wood paneling, and her fingers showed nothing but smudges of dirt and brown dust. Nothing to bear any indication of her whereabouts, she thought grimly.

Chihiro climbed to her feet and tested the floorboards. Based on the sharp creak her step provoked, they were old and worn thin from many footfalls. She froze, expecting her kidnapper to burst through a door, but the silence continued. Chihiro exhaled in relief and crept forward until her outreached hands brushed a grimy doorknob.

"Am I alone?" she asked the darkness.

There was the sort of stony stillness that came from an empty house. It reminded Chihiro of all the times she was home alone—the way she would flinch if the branches rattled, the surprise that every sound elicited as if she was in a castle instead of a cramped house. Hope surged. If they left even momentarily, then with a bit of luck and stealth, she could escape.

Chihiro pushed open the door to find a frogman glaring furiously at her.

"Stinky human," he snarled, hauling Chihiro over the threshold. She shrieked and tripped, falling to the floor.

The spirit's shadow loomed over her like a stratus cloud. Chihiro could feel the drill of his glare, even the ghost of its anger, bottled up like a genie in a bottle. She ignored her smarting hands and shins and climbed up to her feet. "What do you want from me?"

"Surely even your stupid kind can figure that out."

Lin's words echoed. _There are vengeful spirits who wouldn't tolerate a human ruling over them—who would go as far as breaking their laws to stop such matrimony._ Bitterness burned the back of Chihiro's throat. Haku never said he loved her, let alone hint at a significant future, yet his association with her was spelling her doom.

"I'm not a threat," she said tentatively. "I have done you no wrong."

She saw his self-containment thray in his eyes. "You humans always a make a mess of things! This is another world, a place where the gods can replenish themselves from your mortal dirt. It is certainly no place for a human to come and go as he pleases."

"I was in my world until you brought me here!"

"And we all know you weren't planning on staying there, now, were you? Too infatuated and arrogant to know your place. Too prideful to think you could live the rest of your life here."

The frogman stalked to a cabinet, removed a skillet, and swung it in a casual manner that belied his furious scowl. Chihiro wondered if he was practicing a movement meant to bash her brains.

"But you're a pest, aren't you, like all humans. How come you're still—here? Solid?" He gestured irritably at the human. With a flex of her trembling hands, Chihiro realized the unaccounted miracle that saved her life twice.

"You didn't give me any food."

"Foolish human! Of course not."

"And I haven't disappeared." She squeezed her eyes shut in an effort not to look at her hair-tie wrapped around her wrist. "I don't know why."

Slinging the skillet, the frogman approached. Chihiro stumbled into a door locked with padlocks. Tugging at the chains was pointless, but breaking the window, she thought, was not. All she needed was a distraction—a few minutes of bought time.

"I saved your life! All your lives—all of you. I killed the Dark Spirit; without my sacrifice, he wouldn't have left a stone overturned and a spirit unpunished."

The frog paused, something incomprehensible lurking in his face.

Perspiration slid down her hands, but she clenched them. "Your Lady—this mighty queen of yours—could do nothing against the fiend. The prince and every witch and wizard put together couldn't -"

She underestimated the force of her anger as he crossed the distance, bringing the skillet down in a motion indescribably fast. Reflexes saved Chihiro's life as she ducked out of danger and seized the first object she could find. It was large and smooth and felt deliciously like a sword. Shock replaced fury when she knocked the whatchamacallit over her kidnapper's skull.

The frogman fell like a man dead.

Chihiro regarded the body—so scary in its stillness—and began to shake like an autumn leaf. She was half-conscious of her shrieks and fell to her knees. The notion of being a murderess terrified her, yet if he caught her again, she wouldn't see the light of day. Without checking his pulse, she climbed onto a windowsill and smashed her elbow through the pane. Glass shattered and sliced her skin.

If Chihiro paused to reflect, she would have scavenged the pantry for food, broken the window with a vase instead of her elbow, and taken the club she used to hit her captor unconscious. Perhaps she would've even locked him in that dank room, but none of those ideas crossed her mind. With one quick glance at the motionless frogman, she climbed haphazardly out the window and tumbled into the grass. Then she ran for all her legs were worth.

The air was bitingly cold with the telltale signs of fall, and Chihiro's jacket did little to ward off the chill. Moreover, it was pitch dark. Chihiro could discern nothing of her surroundings except its hilly land and a distant trickle of water. A train gliding across a sea flashed in her mind, and she rushed heedlessly. The speediness compromised her agility, and within minutes she fell, rolling down an incline. Chihiro moved to wipe the grime off her face and saw that her hands began to fade.

"Food! Food—food—food," she gasped.

Chihiro dug her fingers into the earth but pulled out only clumps of grass. She thought of the kitchen she left unsearched and rued her stupidity. As seconds of fruitless searching passed, her fingers became increasingly transparent until they dipped through the earth like water.

Almost against her will, Chihiro felt herself accept death.

A human should not live in the realm of spirits. Those who lingered too long died. Not even Zeniba could maintain her presence or stop the inevitable.

Chihiro looked at the star-speckled sky and thought how much she had yet to do. She never got to make amends with her parents or tell her brother how deeply she loved him. She never got to play with Boh. She never got to tell Haku that her heart was his, even if he did not reciprocate. Then, she thought how awful it was to fade to death. Albeit her translucent limbs brought no pain, she felt a terrible coldness spread through her core, as if she swallowed ice water too quickly. The sensation sickened and frightened her at the same.

But there were worse ways to die.

Then, like the cooing of a dove, she heard a gurgling brook, much louder than before. Water made her think of Haku instinctively, and she stumbled, weak-kneed, toward the source. She spied a stream glimmering faintly in the starlight. Chihiro went down on all fours, lowered her face to the water's surface, and drank. The water was salty and cold, but it solidified her. She felt her heart hammer and blood rush to her tingly limbs. She stopped drinking only when she felt like bursting at the seams.

"A-hem! You, human!"

Chihiro looked up. On the opposite bank of the stream stood a silhouetted figure. It wore a sweeping cloak and had a masculine shape: all sharp angles and parallel lines.

Chihiro bowed.

"What are you doing here?" the spirit demanded.

"I was kidnapped and brought here, and I escaped," she said, unbending.

"Kidnapped! Why would someone kidnap a human?" In two or three strides, he crossed the river and remained impeccably dry. "Do you know where you are?"

"Yes, I am in the realm of spirits."

"And you, human, believe this?"

"I must; it is the truth. My people believed in kami for generations; how can I not?" Chihiro chanced a peek at the spirit; his visage was chiseled and hard as if carved from stone. Two black, unblinking eyes glared at her from underneath a broad forehead and thin eyebrows.

Would he save her, she thought, or destroy her?

"You've been here before," the spirit stated. "You visited the land of the kami. Do you know how extraordinary it is for a human to stumble upon this world once, let alone twice?"

Chihiro settled for what she hoped was a politely confused look.

The spirit sighed in exasperation. "What's your name?"

"My name is Sen." She bowed her head. "If I may, I ask for your help. I am alone and cold, and if I do not find shelter and eat food, I won't survive."

"Why should I help you?" the spirit asked, scoffing. "You humans polluted and drained our world, and none of you deserve an ounce of my help."

Chihiro tried to summon whatever patience there was left. "If you don't help me, I will die. I have outspoken against indecent human practices for long. If there is any way I can repay your hospitality, I will."

Another laugh. "You, child, are truly foolish! Now that you have promised me repayment, you will be expected to fulfill it." Before Chihiro could think of what to say, the spirit grasped her hands. His skin was leathery and warm.

"It is your lucky day, human," he whispered, unclasping his cloak and putting it around Chihiro's shoulders, "for our Lady declared it a crime to harm your kind. Hold on tight."

Light flashed, and the stars fell in dizzying spirals.

Since the crack of dawn, Ivy was up, and now, well into the afternoon, she could feel the exhaustion like poison. It made her limbs tremble and her vision blur with frustrated tears. The skin on her hands was rubbed red and raw, yet she did not dare cease her work. A sigh escaped her, and she pushed away her bangs with a relatively soap-free wrist. If she, a hale girl of nineteen, crumbled under the vice-like grip of tireless work, then how was her elderly aunt faring?

As if the Cyborgs read her mind, a scratchy voice exclaimed, "Ivy, Ivy!" followed by the clink-clank of a wooden cane.

Ivy's gut clenched with fear. She couldn't help it. When one lives under the omniscient scrutiny of the machine-men, fear becomes second nature and a best friend. "Aunt?"

"Leave your laundry," her aunt said, waving a gnarled hand impatiently. "The Cyborgs have called us."

Ivy took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, and squeezed the water from a silken tunic. (Cyborgs forbid if she ruined a delicate garment, reason be damned). Then, she hurriedly followed her aunt out of the cellar and into the sun-soaked town quarters above.

Humans—men and women, children and the elderly—stood in a quiet, disciplined semi-circle. In the center stood a Cyborg. Ivy saw him before (she reckoned he was a messenger of sorts) but could not suppress a shudder of revulsion when his freakishly white gaze settled on her.

"As I assume all of you know, the Autumn Equinox will be upon us in about three weeks. Their Majesties ordered an overall increase in your workload as deemed sufficient by your overlords in preparation for the Equinox," the Cyborg announced coldly. He interlaced his metallic fingers and turned, briefly making eye contact with those who murmured in dissent. His purple cloak whispered across the cobblestones with the movement. _Such a cloak can feed a family for a fortnight,_ Ivy mused bitterly.

"However, that is not all," he added, a cruel smile curling at his bronze-like lips. "Her Majesty the Queen will sponsor a banquet to celebrate the Equinox, and, per Her Majesty's orders, five lucky humans will attend."

This time, the whole crowd of humans burst into whispers, murmurs, and even a few exclamations. Ivy glanced at her aunt in confusion, but the woman bent her head sorrowfully.

Humans and Cyborgs never intermingled. Stores and restaurants were divided; humans entered through a small side-door while Cyborgs used the main entrance. Even in parks and plazas, Cyborgs snobbishly steered clear of humans—or bullied them out of the way. Why would the Queen, of all Cyborgs, cross the societal taboo and invite humans to a posh celebration?

"Whom those five humans depend entirely on your work ethic. As determined by your overlords, the hardest-working and humblest among you will receive an invitation to the Equinox banquet."

Any whispers died, and an eerie silence encased the crowd. Ivy chanced a glance upward and froze upon seeing the Cyborg memorizing her features with an intense stare. His lips parted to show a sliver of bleached teeth—a mockery of a real smile. Ivy resisted the urge to touch her hair self-consciously and resumed her perusal of the ground.

"That, humans, will be all. May the day bring pleasure," he concluded, reciting the accepted farewell between a Cyborg and human. He angled his face to catch the sun's brilliance and strode out of the quarters. No horse brought him nor did anyone accompany him. Either gesture was meaningless; the machine-man's iron legs will carry him farther and faster than a mortal creature.

As the crowd dispersed, Ivy hissed to her aunt, "What is the meaning of this? Why would the Queen invite us to her banquet?"

"Hope you're not among the invited for, rest assured, the reason is not her benevolence," the woman said snappishly. "Mind you follow me. Don't linger."

"I thought you did not want me to be 'among the invited;' shouldn't I purposefully slack off?"

Her aunt harrumphed and pointed at the stairs with her cane. Ivy sighed, re-committed a small square of the sky to memory, and obediently descended the stairs. "What now, aunt?"

"The cellar, girl. Don't you have laundry to do?"

Ivy frowned at her aunt—surely her cheeky comment wasn't offensive—but she long since learned to obey her mother's sister. Then her aunt grasped Ivy's arm and pulled her closer.

"Do not make yourself noticed," she warned. "Do not slack off, do not work extra hard, and do not stand out. They won't pick the hardest-working; they will pick someone with a distinguishing characteristic, so do not distinguish yourself. Do you understand?"

Fear returned with such vengeance that Ivy could only gasp and blink at her aunt. The woman gave a growl of annoyance and shook her niece's shoulder for emphasis.

"I mean it, girl! You must not get that invitation; keep your head low. Do you _understand?"_

"Yes, aunt," Ivy murmured.

"Good, girl. Now go."

As her aunt left to attend her chores, Ivy entered the cellar and bolted the door. The Cyborg's insinuating grin flashed through her mind, and she shuddered. Of course. Of course, the Queen's banquet was awful news; nothing good ever came from those machine-men. Of course, attending a royal festivity as a guest instead of a human-servant would only wreak destruction.

* * *

 **A/N: Thank you for your continued support of my story. I hope you liked this chapter, but even if you haven't, drop a review to share your feelings.**

 **Now, there's something I would like to address. I have noticed that the Spirited Away fandom is slowly dying—there's no other way to put it. Whereas stories were updated daily, now they are updated only once a few months. The Spirited Away fandom is losing interest, readers, and writers, and that is just sad. While I understand it is inevitable for fandom to lessen with the years and for people to find more interesting topics, I also strongly believe that the movie _Spirited Away_ is a timeless classic that should be remembered. Like much of Miyazaki's work, _Spirited Away_ is more of a piece of art than a cartoon. It is a film that deserves not only remembrance but also a flourishing fandom. I ask my readers to show support for the _Spirited Away_ fandom—and no, I do not mean _my_ story specifically. If you are reading a _Spirited Away_ fan-fiction, drop a review for support of the author. If you have an idea for a _Spirited Away_ fanfiction, write it out, even if it is just a one-shot. Let's keep this fandom alive and flourishing! While it is unlikely to gather the popularity this fandom had a few years ago, every action and effort counts. **

**I know I have not updated this story in a _long_ time, but I intend to see this completed. Hence, it would mean the world to me if you would read, share your opinions on my chapters, and continue to support the _Spirited Away_ fandom. Thank you!**


End file.
